Feral chickens 'terrorise' West Auckland suburb due to lockdown

Rooster is one of a number of chickens roaming free in west Auckland's Titirangi. Photo / Getty Images

A West Auckland suburb is facing a battle with dozens of 'feral chickens' after the birds were able to breed unchecked during the coronavirus lockdown.

Hordes of the creatures have returned to Titirangi, that was first beset by the rogue fowl almost ten years ago after a local released a domestic couple into the wild.

Strutting the streets, the chickens have been denying the 4,000 Titirangi residents of their usual rest with ear-splitting dawn calls, Telegraph UK reports.

"It's like something out of a Stephen King movie," one resident told the Guardian.

In 2019, Auckland council sent in pest-control as the chickens were attracting large numbers of rats, bringing numbers down from a peak of 250.

But as people stayed inside during the coronavirus epidemic, the chickens multiplied once more.

"We were on top of the chicken issue here which we had to address because of the rats that their presence encouraged," said Titirangi resident Mike Abos.

But "coronavirus let rats and chickens rule our village while we watched from inside our houses an issue spiral out of control that we were literally powerless to fix."

Chickens and roosters roam free in west Auckland's Titirangi. Photo / Getty Images

One villager is believed to be on the chickens' side. "There's a very kind-hearted local who feeds them and has kept feeding them, so the numbers have started to spike up again," said local politician Greg Presland, the chair of Waitākere Ranges community board.

"It's not fun, it is a lovely village… it's not fun being part of the international media's attention." Rats have been spotted in cafes and shops as the town returns to normal life following the lifting of the last coronavirus restrictions on Monday.

"They are going to be hunted and exterminated mercilessly," Presland said.